Anonymous on PC?

What do you think the chances are of our identities being traced back to us when we post on PC? I've posted about some things on here that could get me in a lot of trouble if they are found it in my real life. Should I be worried? Should I go through and erase all my related posts? Is this a legit fear or paranoid? I'm not sure, but feeling a little worried. Thoughts?

Hi there!

Excellent question! I don't claim to be an internet guru, but I do know a bit about online privacy.

First of all, to answer your question. The possibility of discovery is remote, but not 0. I personally gave out my real identity voluntary on another board when manic, it was very embarrassing because I knew one person from that board IRL. And I posted some pretty horrid stuff, as you can imagine.

I was lucky it wasn't someone I worked with or lived close to. But it made me wonder. Now I have a rule. I don't give out any identifying details, example: my place of residence, professional occupation, exact age, name (duh!) etc.

I also don't use my main e-mail for this site. Because people can google your e-mail address and make a connection.

I deleted my social media profiles after episode, because I figured I can not be trusted with them I was never manic or even hypo again, so I don't know what would happen if i had a repeat performance, but I sure hope I would be better equipped to mitigate the online damage.

Also, I'd never post a picture of myself, my pets, my family members, even my favorite food on here! I might be paranoid? At least I'm not an android!

I think on websites like this by sharing our experiences we are giving away our identity to anyone who may know us and those experiences.

I know that if some people I know read my posts they would automatically know it was me but the chances of them coming to this website and seeing my posts are small.

Nor can it be googled unless they are looking for it specifically, so as long as you keep your real identity and your posting here a secret and don't use screen name known to be you I can see no reason to be worried.

This is why I'm so private about how much I post and where...I also exercise other precautions...for most people the chances are small but because I'm in an environment where privacy is nonexistent I have a higher chance of being found out

That's why I always explain myself...The whole 'it's not you, it's me' thing

I think its like before .. you posted your pic you use on here and it brought someone right here... So yes its possible .

I sometimes worry, but at the same time I feel it's one of the only places I can be honest. Our names & emails are not disclosed. On the flip side I think anything posted on the internet can be discovered.

My posting helps. I'm isolated most of the time & feel it's one of my only lifelines & where I am understood. So I guess I think the benefits outweigh the risk.

And while I hide from the outside world in here I can be me.

Best,

Yeah, it's a little worrying. I think the chances of anyone irl figuring me out are small, but not impossible so I think I'm going to be quieter about what's going on in my life. Sucks, because this board has been super helpful, but I think I am risking too much. I'm going to give it a little more thought, but it may be time for me to say goodbye

Looks like the option to edit old posts is gone unless i posted it just now, so i can't take things down. I guess it is what it is, damage done. Hopefully it will be ok

I don't worry about it. No one really knows I post on here. I also post a blog and only my best friend gets to read it. I mean IRL she's the only one. I trust her. I wouldn't worry about posting my favorite food I don't write about my deepest secrets. I save that for my T.

I'm pretty open with people about my disorder, and more often then not it winds up to my advantage. People open up to me more and are very supportive. They know I will not judge and I feel like empathizing with people is a great gift. Stuff I post here people who know me long enough know these things. Most importantly, I don't ever plan on running for public office

I wouldn't worry about it that much. I don't go into specifics of anything I may have done in the past which may have been illegal. But other than that, I don't care.

If someone googles my email and reads my posts, they'll find out I'm crazy as hell. But if they know me in real life, they probably already suspect it.

I started out using my email address as my handle. This is what I normally do. This was real stupid of me. Oops! So now I go under the name "Tucson". If find that if a person is persistent enough and creative, they may be able to find compromising posts. That possibility I have to be willing to handle.

For example, I looked up my past girlfreind on the net. I found out she was married now for I looked at her marriage certificate and the date, where she was married, and who she married. I know,how many times she moved and when this happened. I saw the mortgage documents that told me how many time the couple purchased houses, how much the house was valued at, and who consigned on the loan application. I also know where she lives and what job she has. This was all accomplished surfing the Internet. And I did not find any of her postings on the Internet. What if I could of done this too?

Isn't the Internet wonderful?

I come here because this is the place I can let it all hang out. I have a blog that is public, and I'm quite open about my illness in all of its glory; but here is where I can come and be my craziest self if I so choose. I feel safe here. All the damage I've done to myself has come from being too "out there" during manic episodes, not posting here.

I've considered the possibility of someone finding me on here, and paranoid Mike would like to obsess over it. But not-paranoid Mike really thinks about it and just forcibly puts those worries to rest. Perhaps someone I know comes on here, sees my name, what state I live in, reads some of my posts and is able to make the connection and figure out it's me. But I think the chances of that actually happening are so so so so incredibly small and unlikely, that I'm willing to accept that risk. In fact I think it's so unlikely I hesitate to even assign the word "risk" to it. It's a highly improbable possibility.

Anyway, not everyone knows the things I've talked about here, and I would like to keep it that way, but I haven't posted anything that would ruin my life if someone found me out.

I will miss this forum if I quit, but I'm worried I have disclosed too much, been too honest, and if it tracks back to me i'll be in real trouble. I don't have any identifying info, but still. I value the people and friendships here, it's really nice. But I don't know if it's safe for me to be so open I haven't hidden anything here because I've wanted to be genuine and get feedback from people who have the whole story on things. And I try to give supportive feedback to others too. I'm reassured that my damaging posts will be quickly buried by all the activity here. I'm not sure how I will proceed, but I might take a break and think about it. I appreciate all the help i've gotten here, it carried me through some difficult times, and congratulated some successes, and of course i like following what's happening with everyone else. Such a cool place... Maybe i'm being paranoid. Not too sure. I know i'm going to tone down some of what i've been up to lately, and just chill for a while.

Xo

I'm here because I need support and friends. I also need at times to be destracted. I have thought about how much I have disclosed to others, but for me the benefits far outweigh the small risks. If someone found my real identity out I don't think it would overly concern me as I have the right motives for being here and try to help others along the way. I consider PC part of my "therapy"...hey for a laugh I was just thinking I probably have it more together on here than my real life, hmmm thats a scary thought. Blah....it's just bipolar

Great question. I only post from my private iPad at home. No one in my family would really go through my history. But on a second thought I'm always logged in as "hooligan". Don't think there's much on here I've posted that my husband wouldn't know about already. I'd never use a work computer to post. But that's just my thoughts.